Album Review: As One - Out Of The Darkness (Ubiquity)

Writer: Oliver Scott

They've been prominent and respected for many years, but seems to me that California’s Ubiquity Records are really hitting form right now. Following great records from Roy Davis Jr, Platinum Pied Pipers and Breakestra - to say nothing of Sa Ra Creative Partners, maybe the most exciting producers/artists since the Neptunes - they've just released a new album by Kirk Degiorgio aka As One.

Degiorgio has himself been a well renowned figure for some time. As well as his appearances on the radio, making records, DJing, remixing and compiling compilations, he is well known for his website kirkdegiorgio.com. Check the Hall Of Fame section for his essential albums and artists - it's quite a read, believe me. And from Ipswich? Blimey...

Anyway, a lot of the artists Degiorgio admires were involved with electronic music and the sound of the synthesiser, so, unsurprisingly, Out of the Darkness is one synth-heavy record. The technically inclined will probably be able to identify a couple of those used, but crucially, As One pull of the trick of combining the past with the present and all the tracks here sound like they were made in 2004, not 1974.

This time, while half the album is instrumental, Degiorgio has worked with a few different vocalists - including MC Lacks, the UK's own Jinadu and Paul Randolph, who has worked with Amp Fiddler and the Detroit Experiment. The strong selection of instrumentals varies between house, jazzy broken beat and bouncy techno, sometimes within the same song. The brilliant opening track Hope epitomises this magpie-like approach. Of the vocal tracks, I'm especially keen on Shem Dem with Cathy Battistessa singing; lovely tune.

Ubiquity seem (rightly) determined to continue bringing the work of the late Weldon Irvine to the world's attention, and the excellent cover here of I Love You from Irvine's Sinbad album is complete with a fluent and slick vocal from Paul Randolph. The album closes with a version of the Love Theme from Herbie Hancock's obscure soundtrack to the enigmatic film The Spook Who Sat By The Door. Transcribed from the television apparently, it is predictably splendid.

I'm not sure if Degiorgio has quite yet made an album to compete with his heroes, but that's a pretty damn tall order. Nonetheless, it’ll make an excellent listen as the nights draw in, and is clearly made with real passion by someone who knows exactly what they're doing.

RELATED LINKS:
Kirk Degiorgio - official website




Buy Kirk Degiorgio's Out of the Darkness album at Amazon UK (CD) | US (CD)




PUBLISHED: 14 November 2004

RELEASE DATE: 25 October 2004 (UK) | 26 October 2004 (US)

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